I stare at the endless sea. The war has just started and I burn with the desire to be part of the battles to secure land for our people. But I am here, standing guard on the battlements of our southern-most fort, just waiting for something. I follow rotation and stare at the sea from a new vantage point. The sun is setting, my comrades that can firebend, they can feel Agni slipping away. The absence of the sun had never bothered me much. I am not a bender, so it mattered little to me. So I stand here waiting, looking at nothing interesting and wish I was anywhere but here.

They came out of the moon. The moon was just beginning to rise when the water tribe raid began. The moon was almost full; they would nearly be at their peak. They were specks at first, but then sails emerged and I knew this wasn't going to be a quick night. I ran to the bronze horn that is located at each corner of the fort and I blew. I blew that horn till my lungs ran out of air, the deep tones reaching every man in the compound, sleeping or otherwise. When I could make out how many men were on each ship I stopped and ran to my commanding officer, Lieutenant Hoshi. He arranged my unit, all of us non-benders, to the sand where we were to make a stand. The Lt. was the only firebender among us, and he was weak without the sun. We non-benders would make this fight, and we were eager to prove our usefulness to our officers. My sword mate Oyusu, stood next to me, his jian across his back. He was just as eager as I was. My kusarigama is always with me and I unwound it from my shoulder while we awaited orders.

"The water benders are upon us boys." Lt. Hoshi said, "We need you to hold this beach until the last man. Our benders are useless tonight; Agni is so far from us.

He looked solemn at the fact this would not be a decisive victory.

"Our country needs us, and we cannot fail her. If we manage to push the water tribe back here, we will follow them into their homeland and strike back, making them sorry for stepping out of place."

We all screamed eager for battle to begin and to teach these intruders not to mess with the Fire Nation.

As the water tribe boats landed and the first warriors began to jump off and tie the boat onto shore, we charged. The first few waterbenders fell easily, taken by surprise. The men still on the boat called forth the sea on us. The waves came far faster than natural, drowning our soldiers. I feel like an immortal, finally in my first battle. I am slashing and swinging alongside my brethren ridding my country of a pestilence.

The moon is high when I feel the tide of the battle shift. By now I am covered in gore and sweat, Oyusu is the same. Exhausted as we are, we smile at each other and charge back into the melee. I cannot use my kusarigama much since I am afraid of harming Oyusu, but his jian is a bane to the water tribe's existence. The water tribe begins a slow advancement up the beach. The waves that are called forth do nothing to rid the sand of the gore that stains it. Fire Nation soldiers fall more and more often the farther back we are pushed. For the first time all night I fear for my life. Just as the Fire Nation soldiers break lines and retreat, I see Oyusu fall. I am knocked back by a wave and I fall to the wet gory sand. Oyusu turns to help me but as he turns a spear is thrust through his back and protrudes out of his chest. He looks down at it, sweat and blood dripping into his eyes. He looks down at me and smiles. It is his same, care free smile that he uses to woo the girls back in town, but his smile is tainted by the blood that comes bubbling out of his mouth.

"Oyusu!"

I screamed, I didn't know I could scream like that after fighting all night. The warrior who slew Oyusu turned to me and drew a bloody club from the loop in his belt. I know I am going to die and I am paralyzed by that fear. The warrior raises his arm to strike me down and I throw my hands up to protect myself, my kurasigama totally forgotten. What happened next was far from either of us expected. When I threw my hands up, a wall of blood rose from the sand and the warrior's club was caught in the wall. I have no idea how it happened. I had never heard of this before but apparently the water tribe warrior had, because he started screaming,

"Bloodbender!" he yelled, "Traitor!"

He just kept screaming until I swung my kusarigama and crushed his skull with the metal weight at the opposite end of the twelve foot chain from the kama. In the moonlight I could see his brain oozing out from the cracks in his skull and out of his nose. I roll over retching at the sight. In the east, I can just make out the first rays of the sun as it rises. So does everyone on the battlefield. The water tribe warriors turn and run for the ships as the firebenders burst forth from the fort. In the confusion of running soldiers, I crawl away into the foothills of the surrounding mountains.

A/N: This is my very first fan-fiction that I have posted. Review so I know what to change and for suggestions on how to mould this story. This is a very Japanese influenced story and some terms may not make sense if you haven't heard of them before.

Kusarigama- the kusarigama is a weapon used mostly by the ninja. It is a scythe (the Kama) connected to a length of chain with a weight on the opposite end.

Jian- the jian is a japanese sword that any fan of A:TLA will know. Sokka's sword is a jian. It is very common weapon in Japan.

Thank you for your time if you had gotten this far. =p Cookies shall be provided momentarily. Review and dozens shall be provided.